Living the Dream Brewing opening Saturday in Highlands Ranch

Carrie Knose, living in California, and Jason Bell, running a liquor store in Chicago, both dreamed of opening a brewery. But it wasn't until they met -- through mutual friends -- after moving independently to Colorado that the dream became reality.

"We started talking beer and decided to make it happen," says Knose.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., the business partners will open Living the Dream Brewing, at 12305 Dumont Way, in Highlands Ranch, where it will add to the rapidly-expanding brewery scene in Denver's thirsty southern suburbs.

The brewery includes a seven-barrel brewhouse (with room for expansion) and a fifty- to sixty-person taproom that is decorated with outdoor Colorado scenes, reclaimed materials, including wood paneling and dozens of skis, which form the base of the bar, that were acquired through a national recycled skis program.

"We love skiing and mountain biking and backpacking and everything outdoors," says Knose, who spent time as a quality-control technician for Samuel Adams in Cincinnati before moving to California and then Denver. "Our outlook on what we are trying to do is to make this our dream and for everyone to live the dream in their own way."

There will be five beers on tap to start: New Zealand hopped wit; dry-hopped pale, Belgian dubbel, Creamy Molasses Brown, and Helluva Caucasian Stout. They come from Bell's catalogue of thirty or more recipes that he developed over the years as a homebrewer. Bell, who will serve as brewmaster, managed a liquor store in Chicago for many years and also designed his own automated homebrewing system.

"Some of these are our core beers and some are specialties," Knose says. "We wanted to pick and choose to give it a nice round out of what we have to offer."

The brewery will be open Fridays through Sundays until the owners are sure that they aren't going to run out of beers. They may add hours down the road.